they didn't have to be... it's the overall effect that counts with me and it's great music to listen to when your spirits need a lift or when doing physical labor, as it's the musical version of caffeine...
Pain Of Salvation PS: Cradle of Filfth are by no means black metal. Cradle of Filfth are technical death. I personally cant' stand them.
Music genres are so very fickled. Like how Evanescence is considered alternative metal... no, not really, more pop/rock than anything else. Personally I find myself drawn to powermetal these days, such as Nightwish.
